‘Better Man” is a heartfelt, familiar take on fame

We’ve seen the pitfalls of fame. Freddie Mercury, Johnny Cash, Amy Winehouse—drugs, alcohol, sex—the literal highs and lows of being rich and famous.

“Better Man” is that same familiar tale—one regularly highlighted in cinema in recent  years. However, this is the first biopic to display the featured artist as a CGI chimp.

Yep, British pop star Robbie Williams is portrayed as a chimp. 

Williams himself said he sometimes felt like a monkey being dragged up on stage to entertain. Filmmakers say it’s so audiences don’t get caught up on the actor’s (Jonno Davies) likeness to the real Robbie Williams, asking that we instead focus on the essence, energy and feeling of who he is.

While I understand all of that, instead we get caught up on the fact that HE. IS. A. CHIMP!

It feels a bit gimmicky, merely an attempt to stand apart from countless other movies showing artists struggling with their fame.

Regardless, director Michael Gracey manages to throw a whole lot of heart into the project, his first since his 2017 musical hit “The Greatest Showman.” Though it’s a tale you’ve heard before, you will feel something.

Since he was young, Williams just wanted to be loved, by any means necessary. In one scene he goes so far as to tell his friend, “It doesn’t matter if you love what you do, it matters that people love you for doing it.”

He didn’t get the love he needed from the dad who abandoned him, so he sought it in the spotlight praise from others. He performed in the ’90s with boy band Take That, first in gay clubs, then expanding to larger audiences. But his self-destructive behavior and substance abuse led to the group moving forward without him.

One might think Williams takes the appearance of a chimp in the movie as a reminder that he’s different from us—except he’s not.

“I dent easy,” he says, nervously sharing his personal lyrics for the first time when going solo. And despite all of his celebrity to that point, we can relate to him. Along with his addictions, he battles self-doubt, depression and, like all of us, he needs community and love to get through. To be a better man.

Williams became huge in the U.K. by the turn of the century, his 2003 concert crowds at Knebworth the biggest event in U.K. music history. U.S. audiences should recognize some of the hits from the film.

“I was taught that fame would solve everything,” Williams says.

Spoiler: It doesn’t.

“Better Man” may not reinvent the biopic, but its heart makes it an enjoyable concert about what it is to be human—CGI chimp and all.

3.5/5